Yarn gauging mechanism



.July12,193s,' R LAWSON Y l 2,123,367

YARN -GAUGJNG MECHANI SM.

. Filed June 1'2, 1935 *4 sheets-sheet 14 F1a. 1. 'l'

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JEbERTHZAM/Jm yJuly 12,1938.

R H. LAWSON YARN G'UGING`- MECHANI SM Filed June l2, 1935 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 FIG.8,

` July l2, 1938. R. H. LAWSON 2,123,357

' YARN GAUGING MECHANISM Filed June 12,1955 4 sheets-sheet 5 JNYEJs/Tze RoBEBTJ A1/wm' "33 y/)my /T TTy.

July 12, 1938. R. H. LAwsoN l YARN GAGING `IVHCHANISM 4 sheets-sheet 4 Filed June 12, 1935 Patented July 12, 19438;

r YARN GAUGING MECHANISM Robert II. Lawson, Pawtucket, R. I., assignor to Hemphill Company, Central Falls, R. I., a corporation of Massachusetts Application June 12, 1935, Serial No. 26,222 In Canada June 16, 1934 5 Claims.

'Ihis case is concerned with novel mechanism and a new method for gauging yarn or cordage which is being fed intermittently or which is being used in a machine where it is possible and prac' 5 ticable to stop the yarn at intervals for a brief instant while measuring the same. The invention is of broad application and while I have chosen to show one example of a device as applied toa knitting machine, I merely choose this example for purposes of illustration and do not intend to limit the invention except by the express limitations of the claims themselves.

In the drawings:

A Fig. 1 is an elevational view of a typical knitting machine showing the invention applied thereto;

Fig. 2 is a rear View of such portion of the knitting machine as is necessary to generally show the invention; I

Fig. 3 shows in detail the yarn clamping and twisting elements, the yarn clamps being shown in closed position;

Fig. 4 is a view similar to Fig. 3, but showing the clamps in open position;

Fig. 5 is a view partially in section showing certain features of the gauging instruments;

Fig. 6 is a detail View of the clamping elements, also the lowerportion of the gauging instrument;

Fig. '7 is a detail View which shows the operating means associated with the yarn clamps;

Fig. 8 is a plan view showing the twister head, the yarn guiding post shown in section;

Fig. 9 is a detail view in section showing lthe drive for the twistinghead;

Fig. 10 is a plan view showing in detail the mechanism for operating the twisting head; and

Fig. 11 is an elevation of the elements shown in Fig. 10.

Referring to Figs. 1 and 2, I have shown a knitting machine adapted to knit stockings of the split-foot type in which numeral I indicates a frame, 2 theso-called circularbase, 3 a needle cylinder and 4 the usual sinker head. Mounted to swing upwardly about a pivot 5 on post 6 is a r latch ring 1, which as usual, carries yarn guides which are controlled to feed yarns as desired during rotary,` heel and toe and split-foot knitting. Two cam blocks 8 and!! are located at opposite sides of the needle cylinder and-are controlled in a known manner for knitting during lrotary or during reciprocatcry work. From an extension of the circular base an upright member IIJ` extends and to this member I is attached a bracket I0 on which are mounted the conventional yarn take-up members generally indicated by numeral I I and yarn locking members shown at I2. While several yarns are threaded through these locking and tensioning elements, for purposes of convenience one such yarn I3 only is shown herein, and the yarn gauging device is shown in position to act upon that yarn.

I have discovered that in any attempt to gauge yarn which has been twisted only to a relatively low twist, such as the yarns generally employed in knitting and similar textile processes, no true measurement can be obtained since the low t'wisted yarn does not present a hard body of substantially circular cross-section to the gauging instrument. Accordingly, I temporarily twist the yarn which is to be measured to such a degree that it will present a substantially circular crosssection of sufficient resistance to distortion so that the gauging instrument will read the exact diameter of the yarn being measured and for this reason, our process and/or mechanism is essentially applied to machines wherein the yarn is progressed intermittently or wherein it may be stopped for the brief interval necessary t'o twist and measure the same. The split-foot knitting machine herein -shown is a good. example of such a machine in which the yarn is fed intermittently. A split-foot fabric being produced by opposite reciprocations of the needles or cams as the case l may be, the yarn is first drawn through the guides during one reciprocation and then is held stationary for a brief interval before the opposite reciprocation is again effective to draw yarn from the cone.

It is during thisbrief interval while the yarn is stationary that the mechanism functions to ilrst lclamp a desired length of yarn, to immediately twist the same to a high degree, then to gauge the twisted yarn and finally, to untwist and release the said yarn so that it may be taken by the needles of the knitting machine in the usual manner.

Clamped to an upstanding element I0, is a bracket I4 held in a secure but adjustable position by clamping member I and screws I 6. At the outer end of bracket I4 is secured an upstanding member I1 and at about the center of bracket I4 is a second upstanding element I8 which functions as a bearing for the twisting head and also as a backing member for the operating rack I9. Figs. 3 through '7 show the elements I'I and I8 and mechanism attached thereto in greater detail. Referring to Fig. 3, the element I1 extends at an angle at the top and tforms a bearing for a fixed post 20, the said post being secured to member I1 by a nut or similar attaching means and further, is split from a level at which yarn I3 is shown passing through 20 thus forming a guide aperture for the yarn and also a bearing for clamp 2| which pivots about a point 22 and has at its lower, projecting end a yarn clamping surface 23. The post 20 is cut away at 24, and at 25 is shaped to present a co-acting surface for 23. A stud 26 extends upwardly from one of the forked ends of post 2|] and constitutes a xed element for attaching spring 21; the outer end of said spring 21 is attached to the upper projection of clamping member 2| or to a suitable pin projecting therefrom, and serves to hold that member in clamping engagement.

'I'he bearing member |8 has rotatingtherein a twisting head 28 which is drilled along its center for passage of the yarn and has a hub extending through the bearing member a suiiicient distance to allow a collar 29 to be clamped about its extending end, and further, beyond the collar, is formed into a small pinion 30 which engages the rack I8 and is rotated thereby. As shown at 3|, the member |8 is grooved to form a suitable slide in which rack I9 isv to work. At the opposite end from pinion 30 the twister head comprises an angular bracket 32 which carries therein in precisely the same manner in which element |1 does, a post 20', a clamping member 2|' and spring 21 all identical with the companion post 20, clamping member 2|, spring 21, etc. This second yarn clamp assembly is identical With the rst except that the first is fixedly mounted and the second mounted on element 28 is free to rotate bodily when actuated by rack I9. Rack |9 is reciprocated at the desired time in a manner which will be described later.

It is necessary when twisting the yarn by rotation of head 28 and its attendant clamping mechanism to maintain the clamps in closed position (see Figs. 3 and 6), but when yarn is drawn through to the needles of the machine or for any other purpose, the clamps must be maintained in open position so that they will offer no resistance to passage of the yarn. (See Fig. 4.) A rod 33 extending parallel to rack |9 and operated by similar mechanism to be described later,has at its upper end a bracket member 34 adjustably attached as by a screw 35; this bracket member also `carries in an adjustable fashion a contact member 36. This contact member is clamped in the bracket 34 by a screw 31 and is shaped in the form of a letter U with the ends slightly turned in as at 38. These ends 38 are in a position to contact with projecting pins 39, 39' when rod 33 is lowered, that is, when the clamps are to be opened and yarn is to pass through them freely. Operating rack I8 is so adjusted that in its extreme position post 28 will stop in vertical position as shown in Fig. 3, thereby assuring that pins 39, 39 will be presented at the proper level to be acted upon to open the clamps when rod 33 is in its lowermost position.

As has been previously said, the yarn is actually gauged while it is twisted to a high degree by rotation of twister head 28; yarn clamps 2|, 2|' hold the yarn securely at that time. A rod 40 similar and parallel to 33 extends upwardly through bracket |4 and functions at the proper time to lower a measuring plunger 4| into engagement with the yarn. Any suitable type of measuring instrument may be used but for purpose of illustration, I have shown a dial gauge 42 and extending therefrom a tube 43 within which works the plunger 4|. This gauge may read in thousandths or to finer limits depending upon the nature of the material being measured and the accuracy which is desired.

The gauge 42 is adjustably held in a position over the yarn by connection to a bracket 44 and its clamping element 45 which clamps to the upright member I0. 'I'his gauge may be clamped to any suitable part of the machine or may be attached to the bracket which carries the twisting and clamping member thus making a complete unit for attaching to any desired machine. The tube 43 is slotted at 46 and plunger 4| has a pin 41 extending through this slot. At its uppermost end, rod 4U carries a contact member 48 secured by a screw 49, which engages pin 41 to hold it in an uppermost position in which the yarn is not engaged or measured. At the proper time rod 40 functions by mechanism to be described later, the plunger 4| is lowered whereby the hardened element 50 engages the yarn which at that time is resting on another hardened member 5| fixed in any suitable manner to |1. Since the yarn is stationary and in a tightly twisted condition, the operator may at this time read upon the gauge the exact diameter and thereby check at frequent intervals the quality of the yarn being used.

It would, of course, be within the scope of the invention to provide a permanently recording indicator in place of the one herein shown, such indicator being commonly known per se. By using such an indicator the constant attendance of an operator would not be necessary and a permanent record might be kept which would show the uniformity or lack of the same which was possessed by the yarn being measured.

The |04 gear shaft 52 has cams mounted thereon which actuate rods 33, 4|] and rack |9.

As shown in Figs. 1, 10 and 11, a depending bracket 53 is fixed at its upper end to a convenient part of the machine. While I may attach this bracket to any suitable fixed element, I have chosen'to extend the pin 54 which is xed within widening pick lever bracket 5 5 and about which the widening pick lever 56 pivots, to the right, Figs. 10 and 11, a sufficient distance so that the bracket 53 may be clamped by a set screw 51 and thus `held in a fixed position. The bracket 53 has a lever 58 pivoted about a point 59 on an extension 60. This lever 58 connects at its opposite end to rod 40 by a pin 6| passing through an adjustable clevis 62. A hardened follower 63 is attached to lever 58 directly above the shaft 52 and is adapted to ride on the concentric surface of cam disc 64 except at the points where depressions 65 occur; these depressions 65 are located at the proper point on the cam disc to allow the lever 58 to swing downwardly so that rod 40 will lower the measuring plunger 4| at the proper instant at which the yarn is to be measured. Cam 64 is mounted upon an extension of shaft 52 and is adjustable thereon by means of a set screw 66. To hold rod 4U, lever 58 and follower 64 downwardly against the surface of cam 64, I insert a compression spring' 40 between the under side of bracket I4 and a collar 4| which is adjustably secured to rod 40. While rod 40 and lever 58 would naturally tend to drop when follower 63 encounters one of the depressions 65, the action of spring 48' assures thatmeasuring plunger 4| shall descend instantly and to its full extent of travel when yarn |3 is to be gauged.

The bracket 53 has pivoted at 61 at its lower end a, second lever 68 very similar to 58. This lever 68 is offset at its outer end to align with rod 33 and is pivoted thereto at 69;`this rod 33 is also adjustable by means of a connection 10, similar to 62. A hardened follower 1| is attached to the lever 68 directly under shaft 52 and said follower bears against the cam 12 which is connected to shaft 52 in an adjustable manner in the same way that cam 64 was made adjustable. Cam 12 has depressions 13 into which follower 1| is drawn by means of a spring attached to the upper end of rod 33 whenever clamps 2|, 2| are to be closed,

and at all other times, the raised surface 14 of this cam will swing lever 68 to draw rod 33 downwardly for the purpose of opening said clamps. The rodf 33 has a collar 15 (Fig. 2) adjustably attached at a point adjacent its upper end and a compression spring 16 extends from beneath this collar to the bracket |4 and exerts sufficient force to hold rod 33, lever 68 and follower 1| in an elevated position against the cam 12.

The rack |9 has a downwardextension I9 guided in a slide bearing 11 which forms a part of bracket 18, itself connected to the lower end of post I0. Below this bracket 18 extension I9' has connected thereto a second rack 19 which is engaged by corresponding teeth on `an operating sector 88. This sector 80 comprises one part of a. compound lever which is used to convert a small cam throw afforded by cam 8| mounted on shaft 52 into a sufficient motion of rack I9 to turn the twister head several turnsv for imparting the high. twist necessary before measuring the yarn. This sector 8|) is pivoted at 82 (Fig. 10) to the -bracket 53 and is oscillated by a second lever 83 which engages at its free end 84 in a 1 ful functions.

slot 85 closely adjacent the pivot point 82. A bracket 86 attached to a convenient part of the frame by means of screws 81 serves two use- At its outer end bracket 86 forms backing slide 88 for the lowerend of rack 19; at its inner end the same bracket 86 forms a pivot 89 for lever 83. Lever 83 carries a follower 90 positioned directly above shaft 52 which follower engages a concentric surface 9| on cam 8| except when raised by the cam lobes 92, 93 at such times as the rack is to be reciprocated to twist the yarn. A spring 94is attached at its lower end 'to bracket 18 and at its upper end to a collar 95 adjustably secured to rack extension I9. This spring is under suiiicient tension to return the rack to lowermost position after it has been/raised by the action of cam 8| and the intervening mechanism.

Whil'e the cams I have shown mounted upon shaft within the scope of the invention to drive these elements from any convenient part of the machine. A rack and sector have been shown for purposes of actuating the twister head but any suitable mechanism may be employed which will impart a sufficient number of turns to the clamped yarn for the purpose of measuring, and the mechanism herein shown is merelyk illustrative of one machine adapted to accomplish the purpose, and the invention is not to be limited except by the scope of the claims.

Although the mechanism hereinbefore disclosed has been shown in combination with a knitting machine of the so-called split-foot type, the said mechanism may also be used inconjunction withv hereinbefore` described, i. e., while or during the time interval that the said yarns or strands are being incorporated in a fabric or associated with other yarns, the diameter of the said yarns or strands can be conveniently measured or gaged Without drawing the yarns or strands from their sources 'of supply and then rewinding them.

I claim:

1. A method of measuring yarn consisting in causing the yarn to be twisted and intermittently advanced and determining the cross-section or diameter of the yarn between movements of the yarn and while the same is twisted.

2. A machine for acting upon yarn in such a manner as to incorporate it in a fabric, or to associate it :with another yarn, and means for measuring the yarn by temporarily twisting the yarn and while the same is being incorporated in a fabric or associated with another yarn, said means acting intermittently and while the yarn is temporarily at rest.

3. A knitting machine and in combination therewith means for feeding yarn to the knitting machine, in combination with mechanism twist- Aing and acting upon the yarn during knitting in such a manner as to inform the operator 'of the machine whether or not the yarn is of substan- .tially the same cross sectional dimensions throughout.

4. A fabric making machine and in combination therewith means for feeding yarn to the machine, in combination with mechanism twisting and acting upon the yarn during themaking of the fabric in such a manner as to. inform the operator of the machine whether or not the yarn is of subtantially the same cross sectional dimensions throughout.

5. A knitting machine and mechanism associated therewith for indicating Whether or not the cross sectional dimensions of a strand are of the same size throughout the length of the strand, said mechanism including clamping elements for engaging and temporarily holding the strand while a cross sectional dimension is being measured.

ROBERT H. LAWSON. 

